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LFCS · Question #833

What is the default nice level when a process is started using the nice command?

The correct answer is B. 10. When the nice command is used without specifying a priority level, it defaults to a niceness value of 10, which lowers the process's priority.

Submitted by mike_84· Apr 18, 2026Operation of Running Systems

Question

What is the default nice level when a process is started using the nice command?

Options

  • A-10
  • B10
  • C20
  • D0

How the community answered

(39 responses)
  • A
    3% (1)
  • B
    87% (34)
  • C
    3% (1)
  • D
    8% (3)

Why each option

When the `nice` command is used without specifying a priority level, it defaults to a niceness value of 10, which lowers the process's priority.

A-10

A niceness level of -10 would increase a process's priority, which is not the default when using `nice` without arguments.

B10Correct

The `nice` command, when executed without any explicit niceness value specified, defaults to setting the process's niceness to `10`. This means the process will run with a lower scheduling priority than a process started with a default niceness of 0.

C20

A niceness level of 20 represents the lowest possible priority, but the default for the `nice` command is 10.

D0

A niceness level of 0 is the default for processes started normally, without the `nice` command.

Concept tested: Linux process niceness and scheduling

Source: https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man1/nice.1.html

Topics

#nice command#process priority#default nice level#scheduling

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